


The One Where Everyone Is Happy

by Anxiety_Baker02



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Fix-It, Fluff, Fuck Canon, Getting Together, Happy Ending, I don’t know anymore, M/M, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), because fuck that ending, what is tagging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-02 06:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18805798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anxiety_Baker02/pseuds/Anxiety_Baker02
Summary: Yes, it’s another Endgame fix it fic bc canon can fuck off.Obviously, ***ENDGAME SPOILERS***.........Steve felt the power of the infinity stones flow into him, burning through his veins. Tony and Pepper looked at him, pain lacing their gazes. But there was also determination, and that’s what gave Steve the strength he needed to grit his teeth and nod, standing tall.“Together,” he gritted out to Tony.





	The One Where Everyone Is Happy

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry I’ve been gone for so long, and I promise I have more fics coming! But I watched endgame and fuck that, honestly. So, here you go!
> 
> *sorry if there’s a few spelling mistakes and such, I didn’t edit too much- I’ll edit them out as I see them!

Steve’s entire body screamed in pain as he tried to get up again. Because he had to get up. They couldn’t afford lose again- they had just gotten everyone back, they couldn’t lose them again.

His body didn’t seem to agree. His arms gave out and he collapsed again, breath leaving him. He looked up, saw Thor flying through the air with Stormbreaker, the Parker kid standing with the women, and out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of metal- it could have been anyone, any _thing_ , but it was followed by machine-gun fire and maniacal laughter from that damn raccoon, and so it had to be Bucky.

And that’s why he forced himself to stand, easily finding Thanos’ looming figure in the chaos. And who was that, tugging at the gauntlet- Danvers?

Steve watched her get thrown backwards, someone else taking her place. Who would be brave enough, _stupid_ enough-

Of course.

Tony.

Steve didn’t know what he was doing, but he knew that he wasn’t going to let Tony stand alone, not again. He started running, ignoring the pain of his broken body, watching as Thanos fought back against Tony. He was almost there when Thanos snapped again, that sinking feeling back in his chest because he _can’t_ lose everyone again, not after those five years, not after the past few days.

But Tony...had the stones. Tony had the stones?

Tony had gotten the infinity stones! And he had his own gauntlet in his armor, and oh _shit_ , that did not look healthy.

Steve watched as the power burned up Tony’s arm, and he was _so close_ , he had no clue what he was going to do but Pepper got there first, grabbing Tony’s free hand. Steve saw some of the power spark over to her, and realization hit him.

He finally reached them, and he hesitated for only a second before grabbing Tony’s other wrist, the one with the makeshift gauntlet.

He couldn’t stop the yell of pain that wrenched it’s way out of his throat at the surge of power hit him like a truck.

It was like he had been electrocuted. He was stuck in place, hardly able to move. He felt a sudden, intense wave of admiration for Pepper and Tony for not already being on the ground.

Steve felt the power of the infinity stones flow into him, burning through his veins. Tony and Pepper looked at him, pain lacing their gazes. But there was also determination, and that’s what gave Steve the strength he needed to grit his teeth and nod, standing tall.

“Together,” he gritted out to Tony.

Tony nodded sharply, somehow conveying his gratitude through the pain.

“What are you doing?” Thanos snapped. “Stop that!”

Steve glared at him, clutching Tony’s wrist tighter.

He could already feel the power taking its toll- his body was burning from the inside out and his knees threatened to buckle, but he heard a familiar voice cursing and suddenly someone was grabbing his hand, and some of the pain lessened microscopically as that person cried out as the agony extended to them. 

“You...goddamn... _punk_ ,” Bucky ground out to Steve, gritting his teeth and glaring at Thanos.

This was the first time Steve had really looked at Bucky since he had arrived- he had seen him come through the portal, obviously, but he had been too preoccupied to drop everything and sprint to him like he had wanted to do. And it _still_ wasn’t the right time to do anything that he wanted to do, because Thanos was _right there_ and they were probably about to die, but at least this time they were together. End of the line.

“Jerk,” he managed, staring at his best friend.

Bucky didn’t smile, obviously, because clearly there was a lot going on, but Steve saw the fond look in his eyes.

He could hear Peter Quill shouting at everyone to grab a hand and hold on tight, and suddenly Steve was reminded of the story Rocket had told him of the power stone and how the guardians had survived. He grabbed Bucky’s hand tighter.

Sam landed next to Bucky and grabbed his metal arm, and then Thor grabbed Sam’s hand, and T’Challa grabbed onto Thor’s hand with Shuri following close, and on Pepper’s other side the spider-kid grabbed her hand, and Rhodey took his, and so on and so forth until Steve felt the burning turn into something slightly more manageable. Within the next thirty seconds there was a line of the heroes and all of their allies surrounding Thanos.

“End of the line?” Steve whispered to Bucky.

“End of the line,” Bucky affirmed, gripping Steve’s hand tighter and holding on.

Thanos scoffed, but he seemed slightly put off. “Whatever this is, it won’t work. I am... _inevitable_.”

“And I...am...Iron Man.”

With that, Tony snapped, and Steve felt the burning sensation increase tenfold. There was a blinding white light and intense pain and suddenly Steve lost his grip on Tony’s wrist and Steve was falling to his knees.

Once the light cleared, all Steve could see was ash. Everything was turning to dust and all he could think was _not again_.

But Bucky was still there, on his knees right next to Steve, still clutching his hand like it was the force holding him together.

Steve watched as Thanos sat down in defeat, watched him turn to dust, and then there was a solid five minutes of silence as the dust settled.

“We won,” Tony finally croaked out.

Steve turned his head and saw him lying on the ground, near lifeless, drifting in and out of consciousness.

“We did it,” he confirmed, leaning heavily against Bucky. “Are you alright?”

Tony grunted and lifted his left hand weakly. He didn’t look alright, but Howard’s son was always full of surprises.

“Friday?” Pepper asked nervously.

“ _Life force is...well, not stable, but he’ll live,_ ” Friday answered.

Sighs of relief swept through the masses of people, and suddenly everyone was cheering and Steve felt himself crying, and he saw Bucky crying, but they were all _alive_ and he had Bucky back after _five_ fucking years. And yet his arm was burnt and weak, and he was hurt, and they had lost Natasha, and Steve was just really fucking _tired_.

“What...what do we do now?” Steve heard Thor ask.

“I think you should eat a salad, beer-belly,” Tony joked, wheezing with every word, and then he passed out.

Thor laughed, loud and booming.

* * *

 

Steve didn’t know how, because he didn’t think he ever let go of Bucky’s hand, but he had managed to get separated from Bucky in the aftermath.

He found himself being ushered through one of the portals into Wakanda- he didn’t question it, he had seen so many strange things in the past...lifetime (or two), that he was kind of numb to it now- and into the already full infirmary.

Steve fell asleep as soon as he was laid in a cot.

By the time he woke up, his body had mostly healed. He was still sore as hell, obviously, but he was glad for that. If he wasn’t, he’d have thought he had dreamt the whole thing and he was about to wake up in his lonely apartment, five years after he had lost Bucky, lost...his world, his everything.

But Steve forced himself to come back to reality- their crazy Hail Mary had worked, and they were all okay.

Except Natasha. Steve felt a pain in his chest at the thought of her, but he forced himself to shove it down.

He knew Natasha had sacrificed herself, that she knew what she was doing. She wouldn’t have wanted them to hurt too much. In fact, she was the one constantly telling him that the people lost in the snap would have smacked him for acting the way he was.

_“I don’t blame you, Steve, because I understand. But Bucky would kick your ass if he saw you wallowing like this. D’you remember how he reacted the **last** time he found out you got all suicidal over his death?”_

_Steve had frowned. “I hate that we can say things like that and it’s normal.”_

_“Don’t change the subject. I swear to god, Rogers, if I die before you and you get all depressed on me, I’ll come back and kick your ass myself.”_

Steve remembered that that had been the driving force that had pushed him into the support group.

So no, he wouldn’t dishonor her memory by wallowing- but that did remind him; he had someone to talk to.

He swung his legs out of the bed and whoa, who the fuck put him in a hospital gown?

He groaned, but suddenly his vision was obscured as he was hit by a pair of pants.

“Those are Bucky’s,” Princess Shuri informed him. “They should fit. And this shirt.”

Steve blinked. “Uh, thanks.”

Shuri just rolled her eyes at him, muttering under her breath about _broken white boys_ , turning around while he changed, but she came over with a few nasty-looking medical instruments.

“No, I’m fine,” Steve protested. “Really.”

Shuri raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, Captain, but you do not leave here until I give you the go-ahead.”

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” Steve asked, even as he let her prod his bruises and look over his mostly-healed arm. “You’ve only just gotten back.”

“I got back three days ago,” Shuri told him. “Did you know that you snore in your sleep? It is odd, I would have assumed that the serum would have fixed any issues that cause snoring.”

Steve gaped at her, ignoring the part about his snoring habits. “I’ve been asleep for _three days?”_

“Yes. Now hold still.”

Steve did as he was told, allowing Shuri to check underneath his bandages.

“Alright, well, you seem to be okay. The infinity stones took a lot out of everyone. Bucky only just woke up last night, and Tony’s still out. I think those closest to the gauntlet got the worst of it.”

Steve nodded. “That makes sense. So I’m cleared?”

Shuri nodded.

“How is everyone?” Steve asked softly. He was itching to go, but he needed to know.

Shuri shrugged. “As good as can be expected. Tony’s daughter should be here soon, his assistant...Happy? He is bringing her. Pepper is hovering over Tony, she woke up this morning. Peter woke up last night, his aunt got here this morning. Clint had his family flown in yesterday morning, and they are all happy. Let’s see, Thor is still depressed and fat, but he’s just glad that we won. He will recover. The guardians left yesterday with Carol Danvers.”

Steve leveled a stare at the young girl. “And how are you?”

Shuri literally drooped. “Tired, but I’m okay. So is my brother.”

“Get some rest,” Steve told her.

“You sound like T’Challa.”

“That’s because your brother is smart.”

“Don’t ever let him hear you say that,” Shuri warned. “His ego is big enough.”

Steve let out a surprised laugh, but he was twitching, antsy.

“Bucky’s fine,” Shuri told him, oh-so-casually. “One-hundred percent, I checked him over myself. He’s tired, and freaked out, but he’s fine.”

Steve nodded gratefully, glancing at the door.

“Go.”

“What?”

“Go. Find your friends, talk to them. Don’t worry about making small talk with me.”

Steve huffed an embarrassed chuckle, but he nodded. He patted Shuri’s shoulder as he passed her.

“He’s in his hut,” Shuri called after him, just before the doors closed.

Steve broke into a run as soon as he heard that, rushing past people and trying to find his way out of the maze that was the palace. It took him nearly four minutes to get to the hut.

He slowed almost to a stop when he saw Bucky standing outside with his goats, with only one arm, tossing bags full of who-knows-what onto a cart.

He looked just like he did before the snap, back when Steve would visit and everything was fine.

Bucky looked up and his eyes landed on Steve. He stopped what he was doing and just stared, then took one step forward, and another, and Steve wasn’t sure who started running first, but suddenly they were meeting in the middle and Steve threw his arms around Bucky and pulled him close.

He hadn’t gotten the chance to do this the other day, not during the battle, and they had been separated before he could really process what had happened.

Steve felt tears burning in his eyes, a myriad of emotions flooding him.

“Buck,” he choked out. “I’m-”

“If you say you’re sorry I’m going to punch you,” Bucky muttered, holding Steve tighter.

Steve chuckled wetly, his face buried in the crook of Bucky’s neck.

“I missed you,” he murmured. “Five years…”

“It felt like minutes for me,” Bucky admitted. “But at the same time it felt like forever, if that makes sense.”

“Nothing has made sense to me since I woke up seventy years in the future.”

Bucky laughed.

Finally, Steve pulled away so that he could look at Bucky. Bucky’s eyes were suspiciously bright, but Steve just smiled at him, still holding Bucky’s shoulder.

“Are you okay? Shuri said you’re fine, but-”

“I’m good, Steve. Really. A little thrown, ya know, but hey, we’ve been through some shit, this isn’t any different.”

“It’s so different, Bucky, and you know it.”

Bucky rolled his eyes fondly, but then his expression soured.

“Natasha, huh?”

Steve sagged. “Uh-huh. I wish there had been another way.”

Bucky just nodded. There was a comfortable- if sad- silence for a minute before Bucky suddenly slapped Steve upside the head.

“Ow! Hey! What the hell?”

“You dumbass punk! You took on Thanos for the _second_ time, almost got yourself killed again, and then going over to Stark and nearly blowing yourself up with those stupid stones. If you had died right after I got back I was going to kill you, I swear, Steve.”

Steve just grinned fondly at Bucky. “Jerk.”

When Bucky smiled back at him, Steve let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding for the last five years.

Bucky stopped suddenly, tilting his head at Steve and looking him up and down. “Is that why Shuri asked me for my clothes?”

Steve snorted a laugh. “I guess. She chucked them at my face and told me to get dressed.”

Bucky shook his head fondly. “You don’t argue with Shuri.”

“No, you don’t.” Steve smiled again.

“What about you?” Bucky asked suddenly.

Steve tilted his head. “What about me?”

Bucky rolled his eyes like Steve was an idiot. “How are you?”

Steve rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m fine. Slept for three days, apparently, so that’s good.”

“I didn’t mean physically, Steve.”

Steve shrugged, forcing a smile. “I’m great. We won, I got you back. We won.”

Bucky levelled him with a stare. “Steven Grant Rogers. I’ve known you for over a hundred years. Well, kind of. But I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re lying, and I definitely know when you’re not okay. I might be back now, but I was still gone for five years. You’re going to come inside, we’re going to sit down, and you’re going to talk to me.”

Steve ran a hand through his hair, willing the tears to stay away. He didn’t think he had ever been this emotional, except maybe after Bucky got out of cryo, or back in ‘44 when Bucky got him that stupid sketchbook for his birthday instead of buying himself the shoes he wanted- _needed_ \- for work, or that time in ‘38 when he hadn’t seen Bucky all summer, and Bucky came home- okay, maybe this was just a Bucky thing. Add that on to the chaos of the last few days- years, really, and it was understandable.

He finally managed a wobbly smile. “Forgot how bossy you were.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, exasperated, but he smiled and led Steve into his hut.

 

* * *

 

Bucky had listened to Steve’s story without interruption.

Obviously he knew it had been bad, but he didn’t know how bad it was until Steve told him that he had joined a _support group_. Steve Rogers, a stubborn son of a bitch who hated talking to the Wakandan psychologists to get information on Bucky, voluntarily seeking out help for himself?

Yeah, it had to be bad. So he didn’t judge when Steve finally broke, sobs wracking his body over everyone he had lost, those in the snap and those who never made it back. Bucky silently moved, getting up from his chair and around the table, pulling Steve up so that he could hug him.

After he had calmed down, Bucky made Steve eat. That meant he essentially pinned him down and shoved a sandwich down his throat, memories racing through Bucky’s brain of the same thing happening when Steve wouldn’t take his medicine because ‘he wasn’t that sick’ (his head had been hurting so bad that he literally couldn’t see).

It made Bucky laugh, especially when Steve jabbed his elbow into Bucky’s stomach and they ended up wrestling, rolling around the hut.

Steve won, triumphantly pinning Bucky to the ground.

“Unfair,” Bucky complained, but he was smirking. “The sun got in my eye. I was distracted.”

It’s what he always said whenever Steve would beat him in a wrestling match, because it wasn’t a lie.

Steve’s smile was as bright as the sun. (He knew it was cheesy. So he was a sap, sue him.)

Steve scoffed. “I beat you fair and square, Barnes, admit it.”

Just like old times.

“I only have one arm! How is that fair?”

Steve just rolled his eyes, finally clambering off of Bucky and offering him a hand up.

Bucky took it, letting Steve pull him to his feet.

“D’you wanna go see your friends?” Bucky offered. He figured Steve needed to be with his family right now.

Steve nodded gratefully. “Yeah. I wanna see if Tony’s up, check up on everyone else.”

Bucky smiled at him, nodding, and he turned to start picking up the mess he and Steve had made.

“I’ll meet you for dinner?”

Steve suddenly grabbed his wrist and tugged him out of the hut, ignoring Bucky’s surprise.

“Don’t be stupid, you’re coming with me.”

Bucky blinked, but he let himself be pulled back to the palace.

“You’re funny,” Steve muttered. “You think I’m letting you out of my sight after all of this? Idiot.”

Bucky just smiled fondly.

They slowly made the rounds through the Avengers- including all of the new members, spending at least twenty minutes with each person/group.

They were walking through the gardens when Sam found them, looking excited.

“He’s awake,” he told Steve, grinning.

Bucky could practically feel the relief coming off of Steve as he slumped.

“Thank god. Can we see him?”

Sam nodded. “Come on.”

Sam led them through the crowds- there were still a lot of people needing to get home- and it took nearly ten minutes to get to the private medical house Tony was in. Once upon a time that had been where Bucky had stayed.

Sam went in first, followed by Steve, who then tugged Bucky in by his wrist because Bucky didn’t know how Tony felt about seeing him.

“Cap! Barnes! Glad you made it,” Tony announced once he saw them.

Bucky blinked, but he nodded in acknowledgment, taking in the scene before him.

Tony lay in a hospital bed, hooked up to IV’s and beeping machines. A very cute little girl was curled up next to him, who Bucky assumed to be his daughter. Pepper Potts, a man Bucky hadn’t met yet who had to be Happy, and Colonel Rhodes sat on the side of his bed, relief still coloring their faces.

“I would ask how you feel, but that’s a stupid question,” Steve said.

“Very stupid,” Tony agreed. “But much better than if you hadn’t shown up.”

“Pepper was there first.”

“I was just holding my husband’s hand. I didn’t know what I was doing. You saw what happened and that was what banded everyone together.”

Bucky saw Steve duck his head bashfully.

“Wasn’t leaving you alone again, Stark.”

Tony nodded, acknowledging Steve’s unspoken apology.

“I know you only joined in to save your boy, Barnes,” Tony started.

Bucky resolutely did _not_ look at Steve, keeping his eyes on Tony.

“But if you hadn’t, I’m pretty sure I’d be dead. So, thank you.”

Bucky nodded, then tilted his head towards Tony. “Glad you’re not dead, Stark.”

Tony quirked a smile.

“So, what’s the plan now?”

“Tony,” Steve said, exasperated. “We all almost died, again. We just got everyone back. You only just woke up, what, half an hour ago? We can wait a day before we need to plan. Relax. Spend time with your family and recover.”

Tony opened his mouth, but then he closed it, looking at his daughter.

“Did I ever properly introduce you two?” He asked instead.

“We met when she was a baby,” Steve said hesitantly. “Do you remember me, Morgan?”

“You were at our house the other day. When Mommy told me to save Daddy. But I don’t know your name.”

Steve smiled as Bucky snorted.

“Morgs,” Tony said, shifting the little girl. “This is your Uncle Steve.”

Bucky felt Steve go stock still next to him before a tentative smile broke out on his lips.

“Hey, kid.”

Morgan smiled brightly at Steve. “Hi Uncle Steve.”

Bucky watched as Steve practically melted.

“If he doesn’t mind, do you want to go on a walk with him and Uncle Robo-cop while Daddy takes a nap?” Tony asked his daughter.

Bucky rolled his eyes at Tony, pointedly gesturing to the empty sleeve of his shirt, void of any robot arm. Tony just smirked at him.

Morgan nodded. Tony looked at Steve, and Steve looked at Bucky, who shrugged.

“Of course. Come on, kiddo, want a piggyback ride?”

Morgan nodded enthusiastically, and Bucky let her clamber onto his back.

“Barnes, don’t you dare drop her,” Tony warned.

“Hey, ask any of the kids here. I give the best piggyback rides,” Bucky said solemnly. “Even with only one arm.”

He heard Steve stifling laughter next to him.

“Or you could ask Stevie here, when we were nine I used to carry him everywhere because he’s a lazy punk.”

“My leg was broken!” Steve protested indignantly. “And you were the one who kept insisting, I was perfectly fine on crutches!”

“You used the crutches once, fell into the road, and nearly got hit by a car.”

Tony laughed, but he cut off with a groan. “Stop, that hurts,” he wheezed, still snorting softly. “But you’re telling me more Cap stories when my ribs are less broken.”

“I don’t have many good Cap stories,” Bucky said simply. “But I have a whole lotta great stories about a punk from Brooklyn called Steve Rogers.”

Steve huffed and smacked Bucky in the head.

“Hey!”

“Can we go see the gardens?” Morgan asked. “Peter said that they were very pretty and he brought me a flower, but it died already.”

“Whatever you want, Morgan,” Steve assured her.

“Thanks! Bye, Mommy, bye Daddy, love you three thousand!”

“Love you three thousand, kiddo.”

 

* * *

 

Morgan was the sweetest little girl Bucky had ever met, even if she was just like her father. He spent nearly ten minutes convincing her to call him Bucky instead of Uncle Robo-cop, and then he and Steve had taken her through the palace, introducing her to everyone.

They ate dinner with her, Sam, Shuri, the spider-kid, and his aunt, then finally brought her back to her parents.

Steve spent the rest of the evening in Bucky’s hut, playing cards. He only left well after dark, after Bucky had assured him that he was fine, he’d still be there in the morning. Steve was staying in the palace, a special guest of the king himself.

And so Bucky cleaned up and went through his nightly chores, easily falling back into the habit even after all of this time.

Okoye had done a great job of taking care of his goats, even in the midst of, well, everything. He needed to thank her.

He put his goats into their pen before finally collapsing into bed. It had been a long day- finally seeing Steve again, because he wasn’t counting that battle. If he counted the battle he had to think about the battle, and how close Steve had come to dying. So many times.

He avoided thinking about the battle and easily fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up hours later, it was still dark. He wasn’t sure what had woken him, until-

_Creak_

Immediately, Bucky was pulling the knife he kept under his pillow, whipping around and throwing it at the doorway.

Bucky relaxed as soon as he actually saw who was standing- crouching, now, since the knife had embedded itself in the doorway right where his head had been- in the hut.

“Stevie? What’re you doing? What time is it?”

Bucky forced himself to relax back into the pillows, scrubbing a hand down his face- he thought he had outgrown his habit of stabbing first and asking questions later, but he was still twitchy from recent events. Sue him. He automatically started inspecting Steve for any sign of trouble.

Steve stood up sheepishly. He seemed unfazed by the knife that had been  thrown at him, but he was curled in on himself like a child who had had a nightmare, and- oh.

“Nightmares?”

Steve nodded, blowing out a careful breath. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I shouldn’t have come, but-”

“I get it. Needed to make sure I was here. You know I did the same to you after I got outta cryo.” Bucky paused for a second.  “That sounded creepier than I intended.”

Steve managed a chuckle, and he nodded again, but he didn’t leave the doorway.

“Were you just planning on standing there and watching me sleep like a creeper or…” Bucky raised an eyebrow, and Steve huffed at him.

“C’mere, punk,” Bucky said, sitting up and gesturing Steve over. Steve hesitantly walked towards him, yelping in surprise when Bucky grabbed his arm and managed to pull him down on the bed. He landed on Bucky with an _oof_ , and Bucky shoved him over to the other side of the bed.

Steve glared at Bucky once he got himself situated, and Bucky just smirked at him.

“What? We both know you’re not sleeping if you go back to the palace. This way you can make sure I’m alive, and I can sleep without worrying about you. Win-win, just like old times.”

“We were a lot smaller in the old times, Buck,” Steve argued, even as he shifted around and got comfortable.

“Shut up. It’s not my fault you went and let yourself be a science experiment. Plus I’m down an arm, so I think you’re taking up the most room, pal.”

“Are you still pissed about that?”

“Losing my arm or you letting a random German scientist inject you with drugs so you could become the perfect soldier, with the help of Howard Stark- whom you had only seen one other time when his flying car had blown up?”

Steve just looked at him, exasperated. Bucky rolled his eyes.

“Fine. The only reason I’m not pissed about that anymore is because I know that’s the only reason you’re here next to me right now. Well, that and your goddamn stubbornness.”

Steve relaxed next to him and let out a chuckle. He laid on his back, looking at the ceiling. Bucky watched him carefully. He didn’t know if he was worried, or he just liked looking at Steve. Both, really. Finally, he settled on his back so that their shoulders were touching and looked at the ceiling.

“Do you ever miss it?” Steve asked after a few minutes of silence.

Bucky didn’t have to ask what he meant. “Sometimes. Somethings.”

“Like what?”

“How simple it was. No purple giants trying to take over the world and kill us, no hidden civilizations full of genius teenagers and technology so advanced it puts the Starks to shame, so talking raccoons trying to steal my arm.”

Steve laughed at that.

“Rocket’s a bit much.”

“I noticed,” Bucky said dryly, but he continued. “I miss having two arms, being able to remember things without having to think if they're real or not- don’t look at me like that, Rogers.”

Steve huffed, but Bucky saw him look back up.

“I miss the Commandos. Peggy.”

Bucky didn’t miss Steve’s stuttered breath. “And I know you miss her too, obviously, in a different way than me.”

“She was something,” Steve admitted.

“Yeah, she was.”

Bucky smiled. He had loved Peggy- not like Steve had, not the way he loved Steve, but like a sister. Like he had loved the Commandos.

And he couldn’t bring himself to be jealous of what she and Steve had- of course, he wished Steve would feel that way about him, but Peggy was an amazing woman and besides, it wasn’t like Bucky had any right to be jealous over something that was never his.

He had only ever wanted Steve to be happy, whether that was with him or not.

“Keep talking,” Steve prompted gently.

“Okay.” Bucky shifted so that he could put his arm behind his head. “I think what I really miss is how ignorant we were. Because everything I just said always existed, I guess. But we didn’t know, the only people trying to kill us were the nazis, and occasionally Dum Dum when we pissed him off.”

Steve snorted. “His face would get so red. Remember that time he shot me because he thought I was the enemy? God, I miss them.”

Bucky snorted. “I punched him for that one.”

Bucky could tell that Steve was rolling his eyes even without looking at him.

“Would you go back, if you could?” Steve asked.

“Jesus, we playin’ twenty questions?”

“Just answer the question, jerk.”

Bucky thought about it for a minute, then he shook his head.

“No. I mean, obviously I’d love to go back to the way things were before the war, before everything when it was just the two of us against the world. As amazing as that was...the future is better. Back then, everyday was a struggle- keeping a job, paying rent on time, finding an apartment in a building that didn’t have too many stairs so you wouldn’t have an asthma attack, keeping you healthy and alive, well, it was stressful.”

Steve chuckled. “And the grape-looking fucker who tried to take over the universe by killing half of it-including you- _twice_ , through time travel, wasn’t stressful?”

“Shut up.” Bucky rolled his eyes. “Even with the insanity, not just Thanos, I mean all of it...this world has made so much progress. Technology, first of all. Medicine- Steve, even without the serum here you coulda lived a mostly normal life. You’d still be tiny, though.”

Bucky yelped indignantly as Steve pinched his arm, and he swatted him away, laughing.

“The best part is that people just have so many more rights.”

“That’s definitely a plus,” Steve agreed. “No more discrimination, women are equal.”

“I can marry whoever I want,” Bucky added softly.

Steve turned his head towards Bucky, but Bucky didn’t look at him. His heart was pounding- this is why he shouldn’t be allowed to talk when he was tired, he admitted stupid things. _Shit_.

“Why couldn’t you before? Lotsa gals were lining up for you.”

Bucky let out the breath he was holding in a rush of air, managing to roll his eyes.

“For a master tactician you really are dull, Rogers.”

“Hey! What’d I...oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

“So you’re…”

“Yeah. Problem?” Bucky was defensive, and he knew it was stupid, but he was scared, okay.

“Not at all. Hey, Buck, it’s okay, you know. Look at me.”

Bucky slowly turned his head towards Steve- he never could say no to this man.

“You’re my best friend. D’you really think I’d care?”

“We’re from a different time, Steve. I had no clue what to think.”

“Buck, come on. You’ve known me since before we could walk. I stuck with you after Hydra made you into the Soldier- still not your fault, don’t even go there- and you really think I’d have a problem with you liking guys?”

“Well, when you put it that way…”

Steve snorted.

“Besides, I’d be a huge hypocrite if I did have a problem.”

Bucky blinked at Steve. “You mean…”

“Yeah.”

“But Peggy-”

“I like both. It’s a thing, I’m-”

“Bisexual. Okay. Cool.”

“Cool.” Steve nodded once, then turned back to the ceiling.

Bucky did the same.

“What about you? Would you go back?”

Steve sighed heavily. “It depends on the day. Like we were saying, the future has achieved so much. But if I could go back...even for a little while. I just miss everything so much.”

Bucky nodded, understanding completely.

They didn’t talk anymore, and Bucky waited until Steve’s breathing evened out before he let himself fall asleep.

 

* * *

 

Steve woke up to the feeling of being crushed. He just grunted and shoved Bucky off him.

Bucky flailed and fell off of the bed. He glared at Steve indignantly, and Steve laughed.

“That’s the second day in a row you’ve literally thrown me outta bed. I’m starting to think you don’t like me, Rogers.”

Steve rolled eyes. “You did it to me two days ago.”

“Because you were drooling on my pillow.”

“You were using _me_ as a pillow today, and I couldn’t breathe. Get over it, Barnes.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and half-heartedly chucked a pillow at Steve.

Steve caught it easily, smiling as he watched Bucky really wake up for the day.

He hadn’t gone back to sleep in the palace after that first night, knowing that the nightmares would only stay away if he had Bucky next to him.

“After that wake up call you could at least help with the chores,” Bucky grumbled.

Steve rolled his eyes, but he pushed himself out of bed and poured a glass of water.

“What time is the meeting?” Bucky asked as he grabbed the bag of goat feed.

“Starts at ten.”

Bucky turned and looked at Steve, then just over his shoulder at the clock.

“You’d better run, it’s 9:54.”

Steve spat out his water, cursing and spluttering.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” He gasped once he had stopped choking.

“Because you never told me what time it was,” Bucky shrugged. “And I was still sleeping.”

“You need an alarm clock,” Steve grouched. “I’m not even dressed!”

Bucky snorted. “You’re wearing pants, and now you only have four minutes. Go.”

Steve cursed again, looking down at his pajamas- more clothes borrowed from Bucky. Slightly too short flannel pajama pants and an old rock t-shirt stretched too tight over his shoulders that Shuri has gifted Bucky- neither he nor Steve knew who the band was.

“You coming?”

“Two minutes. And I’ll meet you there after I finish up here. Go.”

Steve mumbled a quick goodbye and dashed out the door, listening as Bucky laughing at him.

He burst into the meeting room in the palace at 10:03, and everyone looked up at him in surprise.

Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, Peter, Stephen Strange, Sam, Clint, Thor, Bruce/Hulk, T’Challa, Shuri, Wanda, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Scott, Hope, and Hank Pym were all sitting around a large table, clearly waiting for him to start.

“Captain America, late to a meeting?” Tony whistled under his breath. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“I overslept,” Steve muttered. “Sorry.”

“We can see that,” Wanda said, nodding towards his flannel pajama pants.

Steve felt his ears turning pink.

“I saved you a donut,” Sam called. “These people are animals.”

Steve sat next to him and gratefully took the donut.

“This is why I like you.”

Sam snorted.

“Now that the Captain has arrived, we can begin,” Doctor Strange said.

Steve nodded, ready to listen.

“First and foremost, we need to work on rehabilitation for those who came back from the snap,” Fury declared. “Half of the world’s population suddenly returned after five years- we need to figure out what that’s going to do in terms of resources.”

“Not to mention mental health and stability,” Sam added.

“There were people who moved on, and suddenly loved ones are coming back thinking that no time has passed. We should organize support groups- like the ones set up for after the snap, but on a much larger scale,” Pepper agreed.

“And how are we going to go about that?” Hill asked.

Steve sat back and let them talk. He had no clue about these types of things- best to leave it to the others.

At some point, Bucky silently slipped into the room. If Steve hadn’t been waiting for him (i.e. watching the door until he walked in), he wouldn’t have noticed.

In fact, he had to bite back his grin as no one else noticed that the ex-assassin has entered the room. Bucky sat next to Steve with a slight smirk, rolling his eyes when Steve looked at him in amusement. He looked down the table when the young princess cleared her throat subtly, and she grinned at them.

“Hey, nice of you to show up, Barnes,” Tony called five minutes later, after nearly jumping out of his skin when he saw the man sitting across from him.

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “I’ve been here the whole time.”

Tony blinked, looked at Steve, who stared back, daring him to argue.

His serious façade dropped, however, as soon as a pen hit Bucky directly between the eyes. Steve broke into helpless snorts as Bucky looked indignantly at Princess Shuri.

“Stop teasing them, Bucky,” Shuri chastised. “You walked in five minutes ago.”

“Snitch,” Bucky sulked, but Steve could see the laughter in his eyes.

“He can talk to the princess like that?” Steve heard Parker whisper to Tony.

Bucky snorted under his breath, but otherwise ignored the comment.

“Do you have any opinion on the matter?” Strange asked Bucky.

“Nah. I’m just here for moral support.” Bucky waved his free (only) hand dismissively.

“Okay then. That brings us to the next issue. Bruce?”

Bruce cleared his throat. “The infinity stones need to be returned to their correct timelines. As soon as possible. We need at least one person to go back in time and return them.”

As soon as the words left Bruce’s mouth, a plan began to form in Steve’s head. Multiple plans, actually.

“I’ll do it,” he found himself saying. “I’ve already been back in time.”

“By that logic, there’s at least five other people who could do it,” Tony said dryly.

“No,” Steve argued. “You, Clint, and Scott need to be with your families. Rhodey is part of your family. Thor needs to go help his people, and Nebula and Rocket have already left. I wouldn’t want anyone except Bruce controlling it, so it just makes the most sense for me to go.” He shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

Tony looked at him calculatingly for a minute, eyes flicking between him and the man next to him. “Okay then, Cap. How do we do this, Bruce?”

Steve resolutely did not look at Bucky as Banner explained what needed to be done, even though he could feel Bucky’s state drilling into the side of his head.

Steve knew that had family here that he needed to be with, but there were a few things he needed to do.

A promise he had to keep. 

 

* * *

 

Bucky knew what Steve was going to do before he even opened his mouth. He probably knew before _Steve_ knew.

He wasn’t angry, or sad. He knew that this was best for Steve.

It just hurt.

But he didn’t say anything at the meeting, or that night when they went to bed, not even when they were standing in the clearing as Sam volunteered- again- to go with Steve.

He didn’t say anything when Steve finally turned to him. It might not have been obvious to Sam or the green guy, but Bucky could see the uncertainty in Steve’s eyes. He was planning something, and Bucky knew what it was.

He was going to return the infinity stones, and then he was going to go back to Peggy and live the life that he missed out on. The life that he deserved.

“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back,” Steve finally said.

Bucky laughed slightly, immediately picturing Steve about a foot and a half shorter- and much skinnier- but no less gorgeous to Bucky, rolling his eyes as Bucky said that to him.

“How can I,” Bucky finally said. “You’re taking all the stupid with you.”

Steve smiled and hugged him tightly.

“I’m gonna miss you,” Bucky said.

“It’ll be okay,” Steve answered, not denying Bucky’s subtle call out.

Steve went to pull away, but Bucky held him tighter, leaning in to whisper.

“Tell her I said hi.”

Steve stiffened slightly, but he nodded and patted Bucky on the shoulder when Bucky let him go.

They didn’t say anything else, and Bucky watched Steve for as long as he could while Banner counted down. Steve kept his eyes on Bucky, and Bucky saw him smile just as he disappeared.

“And bringing him back in five, four, three, two, one.”

Banner flipped a switch, but nothing happened.

“Where is he?” Sam asked, worried.

“I don’t know, he should’ve come back!” Banner was now smacking buttons on the control board, causing the machine to whirl to life again, but no Steve.

Bucky turned away, not wanting to see Sam’s growing panic.

“Barnes!” Sam snapped. “You said you were going to miss him!”

“I did,” Bucky admitted, still not looking. The machine whirred and flashed behind him.

“Why? It was going to be a five second trip!”

Bucky just snorted softly. “Why did you think I said that?”

“I don’t know, because you’re in love with the guy?”

Bucky stiffened, but resolutely did not turn around. Sam marched around in front of him, forcing Bucky to look at him.

“Bucky, tell us what he did,” Sam said softly.

Bucky sighed as the machine gave a loud rattle. “Did you guys really think you could give Steve Rogers- a man who missed out on seventy years of his life- a time machine, and he’d just come right back?”

Sam’s face fell, and Bucky felt bad- but it was the truth.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t?”

Bucky jumped and whipped around as Steve’s voice sounded from behind him.

Bucky heard Sam laugh in relief, felt him punch Bucky on the shoulder for scaring him, but all he could do was stare at Steve.

He looked tired, dirty. He had a few days’ worth of stubble. His uniform was a bit worse for the wear, and he didn’t have the briefcase or Thor’s hammer anymore, though he did have a large brown case. But he was staring at Bucky with a frown, clearly unsure as to why Bucky thought that.

Bucky wanted to ask him what happened, tell him how glad he was that he came back.

“I oughta punch you in the goddamn face,” is what came out.

“Wait, what?”

Bucky marched up to the platform until he was only a foot away from Steve, poking him in the chest.

“I know I’m a little late, I had a few things to do,” Steve explained. “Sorry if I scared you.”

“You shouldn’t have come back!”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want me here?”

Bucky huffed, the words not coming out like he wanted them to. “Course I want you here, punk.”

“I’m really not following, Buck. Are you mad at me?”

“No! Yes! Steve, you had the opportunity to go back to Peggy.”

“I did go back to Peggy,” Steve admitted. “I had a date.”

“And?”

“How do you think Peggy Carter reacted when she saw me? She thought I had nose-dived into the arctic ten years before!”

Bucky squinted and looked at the holes in Steve’s uniform.

“She shot you.” Bucky couldn’t help but laugh at that. Of course she had shot him. It was Peggy.

“She shot me,” Steve confirmed. “Once I got her to stop shooting me, I explained that I was from the future, and blah blah blah. I stayed at her house for a few days, and we got our dance. And then I went on my way.”

“Why didn’t you stay, Steve?”

Steve looked at him closely. “Because I went to see Peggy.”

Bucky furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and Steve rolled his eyes.

“And I met her husband and three children.”

“Oh. _Oh.”_

“Yeah, oh. His name is Daniel, and he’s a great man. Exactly what Peggy deserves. She has two sons, Steven and James, and a daughter, Angie.”

Bucky smiled softly. “She named them after-”

“Yeah, for us. And Angie was named after Peggy’s best friend, who I met. Very sweet girl. You woulda loved her.”

Bucky already knew the answer to his next question, but he asked anyway.

“Why didn’t you just go back to right after the plane crash? You could have had a life there!”

“Jesus, Bucky, do you really think I could do that to Peggy? Take away her entire life, her family, just for myself?”

“No, I know you wouldn’t.” Bucky sighed.

“Then what’s with all the questions? You’re sounding like you wanted me to stay there.”

“I did want you to stay! Steve, you coulda been happy there. What do you have here in the future?”

Steve stared at him. “If I really need to answer that, you’re dumber than I thought, Barnes.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes in annoyance. “I ain’t worth coming back for, Steve.”

“Oh, don’t you start on that bullshit again-”

Bucky cut him off, not wanting to hear that lecture _again_. “I just wanted you to be happy for in once, Steve!”

“You really think I could’ve been happy back then knowing that you were alive and being tortured by Hydra and I couldn’t do anything about it? Bucky, I’m really not understanding why you’re pushing this so much!”

Steve was getting annoyed, Bucky could see. Good, maybe if he was annoyed enough he would go back.

“Dammit, Rogers! I just wanted you to be happy!”

“I _just_ said-”

“You had the opportunity to go back, live the life you missed out on!” Bucky snapped, raising his voice. “You could’ve had the white picket fence and two-point-five kids and lived with the love of your life!”

“How could I have lived with the love of my life when you were here?” Steve shouted, and okay, that was not what Bucky was expecting.

“I...what?”

Steve snapped his mouth shut and closed his eyes, bowing his head.

“Stevie, what do you mean?”

Steve opened his eyes and sighed. “What do you think I mean, Bucky?”

“But Peggy-”

“Yeah, I loved Peggy. When I thought I couldn’t love you. And she knows- she knew. I told her when I first found her after I got out of the ice, and I told her when I saw her last week- well, last week for me, I don’t know anymore, I _hate_ time travel. But Bucky, I’ve been in love with you since I was sixteen years old. And I know that you don’t feel the same, and if you don’t want me around, fine. But-”

“Christ, Steve,” Bucky muttered.

He reached out and fisted Steve’s collar in his hand before pulling him in and kissing him soundly on the lips.

Steve grunted in surprise, but Bucky felt him relax almost immediately. He dropped the large case with a thud, holding Bucky close.

“I’ve got you beat,” Bucky whispered when they pulled apart, resting his head on Steve’s.

“What?” Steve asked, dazed.

“I’ve loved you since we were fifteen and you got beat up because you tried to punch Bobby Hornfield for pulling Sally Jane’s pigtails.”

Steve chuckled softly.

“Stevie, you were the only thing that Hydra couldn’t fully erase from my mind. How could you possibly not know I’m in love with you? Even Sam knows!”

“Yeah, and I’m very confused over here, guys. I mean, it’s about damn time and all, but...”

Bucky ignored Sam, mostly because Steve kissed him again.

This time, they only pulled apart when Steve’s watch started beeping.

Steve cursed, looking over at Bruce. “I may have done something.”

“Something as in messed with timelines?” Bruce asked carefully.

“I asked the Sorcerer Supreme!” Steve defended. “She said it was okay!”

Steve’s watched beeped louder.

“Steve, what did you do?” Bucky asked carefully as the machine started to shake underneath them.

“I brought a friend,” Steve admitted.

Bucky narrowed his eyes. “Who?”

“Steve, if someone else is coming, you gotta get off of there! That machine isn’t stable anymore!” Bruce called.

Steve swore under his breath. “Can she get through?”

“I think so-” Banner was smacking the controls again, and the beeping in Steve’s watch got faster and louder still.

“Steve-” Bucky started.

“Look out!” Banner yelled, and Bucky felt himself falling as Steve threw them both off of the platform.

They hit the ground hard and Bucky didn’t have time to recover before Steve was rolling on top of him and covering his body with his own.

There was a loud boom, and then everything went quiet.

Bucky shoved Steve off of him, already planning his “you’re too self sacrificing” speech, but his curiosity got the best of him.

He accepted Steve’s hand and stood up, staring at the platform- well, the pile of metal that had been the platform. Someone lay in the center, groaning.

“Next time, Rogers, could you warn me that it’s going to explode?”

Bucky gaped as Natasha Romanoff pushed herself out of the rubble and stumbled forward.

Steve rushed towards her and caught her as she fell. “How was I supposed to know, I got here five minutes ago!”

“It’s been almost a day for me,” Natasha grumbled.

“Nat,” Bruce yelped. “You’re alive! How- Steve-”

“I talked to the Sorcerer Supreme, and she helped me,” Steve admitted. “After I saw Pegs, I went back to return the Soul Stone- it really would’ve been nice to know that Red Skull was the guardian-”

“ _What?!”_ Bucky yelped.

“Yeah, tell me about it!”

“Boys,” Natasha cut in tiredly.

“Sorry. So I returned the stone, and since Natasha had given her soul for the stone, it was only fair that we trade.”

“And there won’t be any consequences?” Banner asked carefully.

“No. No alternate timelines, no personal effects for Natasha, we’re good.”

“In that case, give me a hug!” Sam cried.

Natasha grinned and hugged Sam tightly.

“Missed you,” she said to him. “Five years was a long time.”

Banner stepped in next, awkwardly hugging Natasha. “You had us worried for awhile there,” he said.

She laughed and patted his back, then turned to Bucky.

Bucky grinned, the lunged forward and spun her around- somehow managing not to drop her with his one arm. She laughed, hugging him tight.

“Five years was too long for you to be gone,” she told him. “Rogers almost lost his damn mind.”

“At least he didn’t crash anymore planes,” Bucky laughed.

“No, but he did stop wearing parachutes again.”

Bucky heard Steve try to protest, but he stopped when Bucky turned and glared at him.

“We’ll talk about that later,” Bucky said. “You’re wearing a parachute next time you jump out of a plane.”

“Actually,” Steve said softly. “I’m retiring.”

“What?”

“I’m retiring,” he repeated.

“Captain America can retire?” Sam asked.

“No, he can’t. But Steve Rogers can. And Steve Rogers _is.”_

“I don’t know if I can live in a world without Captain America,” Sam admitted.

“You won’t have to,” Steve told him.

Sam frowned, but Bucky could already see where the was going. He smiled.

“As soon as I saw Bucky come out of that portal, I told myself that I would retire if we won against Thanos. I can’t lose him again, and I’m tired of fighting. We won, and I had a lot of time between then and now- I was returning those stones for months- to think about this.”

Steve picked up the large case that had fallen when the platform had exploded. He unzipped it and pulled out a shield, identical to the one that had been destroyed during the battle.

He held it out to Sam.

Sam gaped for a moment, looking between Steve and the shield, before looking at Bucky.

Bucky nodded reassuringly, because Sam deserved it.

He, Natasha, and Banner watched as Sam tried it on, then hugged Steve.

“Guys, not to ruin the moment or anything, because it’s really sweet and you deserve it, Sam, but I just came back from the dead and I think I need to get some food. Or some medical attention.”

Bucky suddenly took note of how heavily she was leaning on him.

Steve swore. “Of course, sorry.”

“Also, Steve’s got a bit of shrapnel in his back,” she added casually.

Bucky cursed and whipped his head around to glare at Steve, who shrunk back sheepishly.

“I’m fine.”

“Oh boy,” Natasha muttered.

Sam stepped forward and Natasha leaned on him instead, letting Bucky move towards Steve.

He didn’t say anything, just pushed at Steve’s shoulder until he turned around. Sure enough there was a piece of metal from the platform sticking out of his back.

“I have no clue how you thought you were going to hide this from me,” Bucky growled in annoyance, prodding at it and trying to see how bad it was.

He yanked it out without warning, and Steve yelped.

“Don’t be a baby,” Bucky chastised, rolling his eyes. “And next time don’t be stupid, get out of the way- mmph!”

Steve cut him off by kissing him deeply.

Bucky opened his eyes after Steve pulled away, not even aware of closing them in the first place.

“Don’t think you can get out of everything just by doing that,” Bucky warned, but he couldn’t stop the grin spreading across his face.

“Did it work?”

Bucky huffed, and a smug look spread across Steve’s face.

“I missed a lot, apparently,” Natasha interrupted, smirking at them.

“Oh, don’t worry. That only happened about two minutes before you got here,” Sam told her.

“It’s about damn time.”

“That’s what I said!”

 

* * *

 

They made it back to the palace half an hour later. Steve and Bucky found everyone in the gardens. Clint’s two youngest, Nathaniel and Cooper, and Morgan were playing, while Cassie and Clint’s oldest, Lila, were sitting on a bench and talking. Peter and Shuri were running around laughing- they had become close in the past few days. Tony sat in a wheelchair talking with Pepper, Rhodey, Stephen Strange, Clint and his wife, Thor, T’Challa, Wanda, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, May Parker, Scott, Hope, and Hank Pym.

“Did it work?” Tony called once he saw them. “Wait, scratch that, you two finally got your shit together?” He pointed at their entwined hands.

“Shit!” Morgan giggled before either man could answer.

“Shit!” Cooper copied.

“Shit!” Nathaniel giggled.

“Tony!” Cried three exasperated parents.

“Okay, sorry! Kids, don’t copy bad words. But more importantly, Cap and Barnes are holding hands!”

Steve laughed and looked at Bucky.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he admitted. “But that’s not the biggest news we have.”

“Did something go wrong with the stones?” Clint asked, dread filling his voice.

“More like something went right. Would you guys hurry up?” Steve called over his shoulder.

“I’m going as fast as I can, Rogers!” Natasha yelled back as she and Sam rounded the corner.

Steve saw Clint’s face turn stricken as he leapt to his feet- but he didn’t make any move towards Natasha. Sam and Natasha stopped a few feet away from them, and Natasha waved.

“Hey, guys.”

“Oh my god!” Tony yelled, trying to push himself out of his wheelchair.

“Don’t do that, Tony,” Natasha scolded, grinning.

Tony sat back down, smiling so wide Steve thought his face would crack.

The rest of the Avengers looked much the same, tears of joy and relief already filling some of their eyes. Clint, however, was still standing there, looking like someone had ripped his heart out.

“Aunt Nat!” Cooper cried, and he and Nathaniel raced towards her. They grabbed her legs and she hugged them both.

“Daddy said you weren’t coming back!” Cooper exclaimed.

“Well, here I am,” Natasha smiled, straightening up with a slight wince.

Lila was next, already crying as she hugged Natasha- she was old enough to understand what had happened.

“Hey, it’s okay, kid. Can’t get rid of me that easy.”

Lila sniffed and nodded, smiling as she backed away.

Steve saw Natasha looking at Clint, who still had yet to move.

“You were right,” she said, voice cracking. “We’ve come a long way since Budapest.”

It was like something had bitten Clint, with the way he jumped and started running, reaching Natasha in record time. He slammed into her, lifting her off of the ground in a hug. Natasha laughed, but it was wobbly at best, and she clung back just as tight.

“I’m sorry,” Clint whispered, tears pouring down his face. “I’m so sorry.”

Steve didn’t think he had ever seen the archer cry before, but now Clint’s whole body was shaking. Natasha was just as bad, absolutely clinging onto Clint.

Clint pressed a shaky, lingering kiss to her forehead, before leaning down and resting his head against hers.

He looked away, because this was clearly a private moment. Bucky squeezed his hand and smiled at him.

When he looked back, Clint was pushing Natasha.

“You threw yourself off of a cliff!” He shouted.

“You did it first! I was jumping after your dumb ass!”

There was clearly no heat behind the words, as they were both hiding smiles.

“Alright, honey, out of my way.” Laura pushed Clint aside and gathered Natasha in her arms, kissing her cheek.

“Thank god,” she murmured. “Don’t ever do that again. You almost broke my husband.”

“I don’t plan on it,” Natasha answered, laughing wetly.

“Thank you,” Laura whispered. “I know what you did. Thank you.”

Natasha simply nodded, sniffing.

Wanda was next, sobbing into Natasha’s shoulder, and so on until Natasha had reunited with the rest of the Avengers.

“And you’re alright?” Pepper asked.

“I’m going to be fine,” Natasha assured her, and her knees gave out.

Steve started forward, but Clint had already caught her.

“I think it’s time you went to the hospital,” he said firmly.

Natasha just nodded tiredly. Steve hadn’t noticed how utterly spent she seemed until that moment. He thought he knew what it was like coming back from the dead, but he was never _technically_ dead.

Not like Natasha had been.

He and Bucky followed along with the rest of the Avengers, staying long enough in the hospital to ensure that Natasha truly would be okay. She needed lots of rest, but she was going to make a full recovery. She was going to be just fine. They all would.

Steve looked over at Bucky, who was laughing at something Sam said. Seeing how happy he was pulled at Steve’s heart, and he couldn’t hold back a smile.

Bucky looked at him, and Steve’s smile widened, and he lifted their joined hands, placing a kiss on the back of Bucky’s.

Bucky smiled at him, then turned back and continued listening to Sam’s story.

Yeah. They were going to be fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I wrote this quick so sorry about any mistakes. A few things: 
> 
> One: Please let me know if you guys want a shirt and sweet epilogue because I have one planned but I also like the way that this ended? Opinions? 
> 
> Two: Nat and Clint are just friends in this, in case that wasn’t clear, their love is more like a sibling bond (and everyone knows it)
> 
> Three: This isn’t to take away from Nat and Tony’s deaths, because they were beautiful and self sacrificing but I’m in denial so...yeah.


End file.
